Catherine Cookson

Dame Catherine Cookson DBE
Born	Catherine Ann McMullen (1906-06-20)20 June 1906 South Shields,County Durham,England
Died	11 June 1998(1998-06-11)(aged 91) Newcastle upon Tyne,England
Pen name	Catherine Cookson Catherine Marchant Katie McMullen
Occupation	Novelist
Period	1950–1998
Spouse	Tom Cookson ​ (m.1940)​

DameCatherine Ann Cookson,DBE(néeMcMullen;20 June 1906 – 11 June 1998), was a British writer. She is in the top 20 of the most widely read British novelists, with salestopping 100 million,while she retained a relatively low profile in the world of celebrity writers. Her books were inspired by her deprived youth inSouth Shields(historically part ofCounty Durham), North East England, the setting for her novels. With 104 titles written in her own name or two otherpen names,she is one of the most prolific British novelists.

Early life

Cookson, registered asCatherine Ann Davies,was born on 20 June 1906at 5 Leam LaneinTyne Dock,South Shields,County Durham,England. She was known as "Katie" as a child.She moved toEast Jarrow,which would become the setting for one of her best-known novels,The Fifteen Streets.The illegitimate child of analcoholicnamed Kate Fawcett, she grew up thinking her unmarried mother was her sister, as she was brought up by her grandparents, Rose and John McMullen.Biographer Kathleen Jones tracked down her father, whose name was Alexander Davies, abigamistand gambler fromLanarkshire,Scotland.

She left school at 14 and, after a period of domestic service,took alaundryjob at HartonWorkhousein South Shields. In 1929, she moved south to run the laundry atHastingsWorkhouse, saving every penny to buy a large Victorian house, and then taking in lodgers to supplement her income.

In June 1940, at the age of 34, she married Tom Cookson, a teacher atHastings Grammar School.After experiencing fourmiscarriageslate in pregnancy, it was discovered she was suffering from a rarevasculardisease,telangiectasia,which caused bleeding from the nose, fingers and stomach and resulted inanaemia.Amental breakdownfollowed the miscarriages, from which it took her a decade to recover.

Writing career

She took up writing as a form of therapy, in order to tackle herdepression,and became a founding member of theHastings Writers' Group.Her first novel,Kate Hannigan,was published in 1950.Though it was labelled aromance novel,she expressed discontent with the stereotype. Her books were, she said,historical novelsabout people and conditions she knew. Cookson had little connection with the London literary circus.

Cookson wrote almost 100 books, which sold more than 123 million copies, her novels being translated into at least 20 languages. She also wrote books under thepseudonymsCatherine Marchantand a name derived from her childhood name, Katie McMullen.She remained the most borrowed author frompublic librariesin the UK for 17 years,up until four years after her death, losing the top spot toDame Jacqueline Wilsononly in 2002.

Books in film, on television and on stage

Many of Cookson's novels have been adapted for film, radio, and the stage. The first film adaptation of her work wasJacqueline(1956), directed byRoy Ward Baker,based on her bookA Grand Man. It was followed byRooney(1958), directed byGeorge Pollock,based on her bookRooney.Both starredJohn Gregson.For commercial reasons, the action of both films was transferred from South Shields to Ireland.

In 1983Katie Mulhollandwas adapted into a stage musical by composerEric Boswelland writer-directorKen Hill.Cookson attended the première.

It was on television, however, that she had her greatest media success, with a series of dramas that appeared over the course of a decade onITVand achieved huge ratings. Eighteen books were adapted for television between 1989 and 2001.They were all produced by Ray Marshall fromFestival Film & TVwho was given permission by Cookson in 1988 to bring her works to the screen. The first film to be made,The Fifteen StreetsstarringSean BeanandOwen Teale,was nominated for anEmmyaward in 1990. The second production,The Black Velvet Gown,won an InternationalEmmyfor Best Drama in 1991. The mini series regularly attracted audiences over 10 million and are still showing in the UK on Drama and the Yesterday Channel.

Philanthropy

In 1985, she pledged more than £800,000 to theUniversity of Newcastle.In gratitude, the university set up a lectureship inhematology.Some £40,000 was given to provide a laser to help treat bleeding disorders and £50,000 went to create a new post in ear, nose and throat studies, with particular reference to the detection ofdeafnessin children. She had already given £20,000 towards the university'sHatton Galleryand £32,000 to its library. In recognition of this generosity, a building in the university medical faculty has been named after her.Her foundation continues to make donations to worthy causes in the UK, particularly those offering services to young people and cultural ventures, such as theTyneside Cinema.

Honours

She was created anOfficer of the Order of the British Empirein 1985, and was elevated toDame Commander of the Order of the British Empirein 1993.

Cookson received theFreedom of the BoroughofSouth Tyneside,and anhonorary degreefrom theUniversity of Newcastle.TheVariety Club of Great Britainnamed her Writer of the Year, and she was voted Personality of the North East.

She was the subject ofThis Is Your Lifein 1982 when she was surprised byEamonn Andrews.

Cookson was awarded anhonorary fellowshipatSt Hilda's College, Oxfordin 1997 after donating £100,000 to the college, although she was too ill to travel to receive it.

Later life and death

In later life, Cookson and her husband Tom returned to the North East and settled first in Haldane Terrace,Jesmond,Newcastle upon Tyne.They then moved toCorbridge,amarket townnear Newcastle, and later toLangley, Northumberland,a small village nearby. As her health declined, they moved for a final time, back to Jesmond in 1989 to be nearer to medical facilities.For the last few years of her life she was bed-ridden,and she gave her final TV interview toNorth East Tonight,the regionalITV Tyne Teesnews programme, from her sickbed. It was conducted byMike Neville.

Cookson died at the age of 91, nine days before her 92nd birthday, at her home in Newcastle. Her novels, many written from her sickbed, continued to be published posthumously until 2002. Her husband Tom died just 17 days later, on 28 June 1998.He had beenhospitalisedfor a week and the cause of his death was not announced. He was 86 years old.

Legacy

In 1992 the inaugural Catherine Cookson Prize took place and was won by authorVal Woodand her debut novel,The Hungry Tide,which subsequently went on to become a best-seller.

In March 2008, the Dame Catherine Cookson Memorial Garden was unveiled in the grounds ofSouth Tyneside District HospitalinSouth Shields,based on the theme of aserpentinesymbol, commonly used to symbolise health and caring. The hospital occupies the site of the Harton Workhouse, where Cookson worked from 1924 to 1929. The project was partly funded by the Catherine Cookson Trust.

Tom and Catherine,a musical about the couple's life, was written by local playwright Tom Kelly. It played to sell-out crowds at theCustoms Housein South Shields.

Portrayals in fiction

Cookson was portrayed by actress Kerry Browne in the 2018 award-winning filmOur Catherine,co-written by Tom Kelly.

Bibliography

Written as Catherine Cookson

• The Fifteen Streets(1952)
• Colour Blind(1953)
• Maggie Rowan(1954)
• Rooney(1957)
• The Menagerie(1958)
• Fanny McBride(1959)
• Fenwick Houses(1960)
• The Garment(1962)
• The Blind Miller(1963)
• The Wingless Bird(1964) akaA Marriage of Scandal
• Hannah Massey(1964)
• The Mists of Memory(1965)
• The Long Corridor(1965)
• Matty Doolin(1965)
• The Unbaited Trap(1966)
• Slinky Jane(1967)
• Katie Mulholland(1967)
• The Round Tower(1968)
• The Nice Bloke(1969) akaThe Husband(1969)
• The Glass Virgin(1969)
• The Invitation(1970)
• The Dwelling Place(1971)
• Feathers in the Fire(1971) akaHer Secret Son
• Pure as the Lily(1972)
• The Invisible Cord(1975)
• The Gambling Man(1975)
• The Tide of Life(1976)
• The Girl(1977)
• The Cinder Path(1978)
• The Man Who Cried(1979)
• The Whip(1983) akaThe Spaniard's Gift(1989)
• The Black Velvet Gown(1984)
• The Bannaman Legacy(1985) akaA Dinner of Herbs(1985)
• The Moth(1986) a.k.a.The Thorman Inheritance(1989)
• The Parson's Daughter(1987)
• The Harrogate Secret(1988) akaThe SecretakaThe Smuggler's Secret
• The Cultured Handmaiden(1988)
• The Spaniard's Gift(1989) akaThe Whip(1983)
• The Black Candle(1989)
• The Thorman Inheritance(1989) akaThe Moth(1986)
• The Gillyvors(1990) akaThe Love Child(1991)
• My Beloved Son(1991)
• The Rag Nymph(1991) akaThe Forester Girl(1993) akaThe Rag Maid (2017)
• The House of Women(1992)
• The Maltese Angel(1992)
• The Golden Straw(1993) akaThe Hatmaker's Gift
• The Forester Girl(1993) akaThe Rag Nymph(1991)
• The Year of the Virgins(1993)
• The Tinker's Girl(1994)
• Justice Is a Woman(1994)
• A Ruthless Need(1995)
• The Bonny Dawn(1996)
• The Branded Man(1996) akaThe Wayward Daughter(2022)
• The Lady on my Left(1997) akaThe Mists of Memory(1965)
• The Obsession(1995)
• The Upstart(1998)
• The Blind Years(1998)
• Riley(1998)
• Solace of Sin(1998)
• The Desert Crop(1999) akaAn Unsuitable Match
• The Thursday Friend(1999)
• My Land of the North(1999)
• A House Divided(2000)
• Rosie of the River(2000)
• The Simple Soul and Other Stories(2001)
• The Silent Lady(2002)

The Kate Hannigan series

• Kate Hannigan(1950)
• Kate Hannigan's Girl(2001)

The Mary Ann stories

• A Grand Man(1954)
• The Lord and Mary Ann(1956)
• The Devil and Mary Ann(1958)
• Love and Mary Ann(1961)
• Life and Mary Ann(1962)
• Marriage and Mary Ann(1964)
• Mary Ann's Angels(1965)
• Mary Ann and Bill(1967)

The Mallen Novels

• The Mallen Streak(1973)
• The Mallen Girl(1974)
• The Mallen Litter(1974)

The Tilly Trotter trilogy

• Tilly TrotterakaTilly(1980)
• Tilly Trotter WedakaTilly Wed(1981)
• Tilly Trotter WidowedakaTilly Alone(1982)

The Hamilton series

• Hamilton(1983)
• Goodbye Hamilton(1984)
• Harold(1985)

The Bill Bailey trilogy

• Bill Bailey(1986)
• Bill Bailey's Lot(1987) akaBill Bailey's Litter
• Bill Bailey's Daughter(1988)
• The Bondage of Love(1997)

Children's stories

• Joe and the Gladiator(1968)
• The Nipper(1970)
• Blue Baccy(1972) akaRory's Fortune(1988)
• Our John Willie(1974)
• Mrs Flannagan's Trumpet(1976)
• Go Tell It to Mrs Golightly(1977)
• Lanky Jones(1981)
• Nancy Nutall and the Mongrel(1982)
• Rory's Fortune(1988) akaBlue Baccy(1972)
• Bill and The Mary Ann Shaughnessy(1991)

Autobiographies

• Our Kate(1969)
• Catherine Cookson Country(1986) akaMy Land of the North(1999)
• Let Me Make Myself Plain(1988)
• Plainer Still(1995)
• Just A Saying(2002)

Written as Catherine Marchant

• Heritage of Folly(1961) akaHeritage of Folly(1961) by Katie McMullen
• The Fen Tiger(1963) akaThe House on the Fens(1963)
• House of Men(1963)
• The Mists of Memory(1965) akaThe Lady on my Left(1997) by Catherine Cookson
• The Iron Facade(1965) akaEvil at Rodgers Cross(1965)
• Miss Martha Mary Crawford(1975)
• The Slow Awakening(1976)

Written as Katie McMullen

• Heritage of Follyby Catherine Marchant

Biographies

• To Be a Lady: Biography of Catherine Cooksonby Cliff Goodwin (1994)
• The Girl From Leam Lane: The Life and Writing of Catherine Cooksonby Piers Dudgeon (1997)
• Catherine CooksonbyKathleen Jones(1999)
• Kate's Daughter: The Real Catherine Cooksonby Piers Dudgeon (2003)
• Seeking Catherine Cookson's Daby Kathleen Jones (2004)

Documentary

• The Storyteller(1999) narrated byMike Neville

Books in film and television

All titles fromThe Mallensonwards have been released on DVD in the UK and various other countries.

• Jacqueline(1956) adaptation ofA Grand ManwithJohn Gregson,Kathleen Ryan,Noel PurcellandCyril Cusack
• Rooney(1958) withJohn Gregson,Muriel Pavlow,Barry FitzgeraldandJune Thorburn
• Joe and the Gladiator(1971) withJames Garbutt,Malcolm TerrisandJohn Cazabon
• Romance: House of Men(1977) withMichael Kitchen,James Laurenson,Alun ArmstrongandJoe Gladwin
• Our John Willie(1980) withIan Cullen,David Burke,James Garbutt,John MalcolmandMalcolm Terris
• The Mallens(1979–1980) withJohn Hallam,John Duttine,David RintoulandJuliet Stevenson
• The Fifteen Streets(1989) withSean Bean,Owen Teale,Clare HolmanandJane Horrocks
• The Black Candle(1991) withNathaniel ParkerandSamantha Bond
• The Black Velvet Gown(1991) withJanet McTeer,Bob Peck,Geraldine Somervillewon theInternational Emmyaward for best drama.
• The Man Who Cried(1993) withCiarán HindsandAmanda Root
• The Cinder Path(1994) withCatherine Zeta-Jones
• The Dwelling Place(1994) with Tracy Whitwell,Julie HesmondhalghandRay Stevenson
• The Glass Virgin(1995) withNigel Havers,Emily MortimerandBrendan Coyle
• The Gambling Man(1995) withRobson Green
• The Tide of Life(1996) withGillian Kearney,John Bowler,Ray StevensonandJames Purefoy
• The Girl(1996) withJonathan Cake,Malcolm Stoddard,Jill Bakerand Siobhan Flynn
• The Wingless Bird(1997) withClaire Skinner,Anne ReidandJulian Wadham
• The Moth(1997) withJack Davenport,Juliet AubreyandJustine Waddell
• The Rag Nymph(1997) withHoneysuckle Weeks,Alec NewmanandVal McLane
• The Round Tower(1998) withEmilia Fox,Ben MilesandDenis Lawson
• Colour Blind(1998) withNiamh Cusack,Tony Armatrading,Art Malik,Dearbhla Molloy,andCarmen Ejogo
• Tilly Trotter(1999) withCarli Norris,Beth Goddard,Sarah Alexander,Amelia Bullmore,Rosemary LeachandSimon Shepherd
• The Secret(2000) withColin Buchanan,Hannah Yelland,Elizabeth Carling,Clare Higgins,andStephen Moyer
• A Dinner of Herbs(2000) withJonathan Kerrigan,Melanie Clark Pullen,Debra Stephenson,David ThrelfallandBillie Whitelaw

External links

• Catherine CooksonatIMDb

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